Hungarian GP will be Sutil`s 100th F1 race

Budapest: When Sahara Force India`s Adrian Sutil will line up on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix this Sunday, it will be his 100th GP but the German is approaching the milestone race in a very sedately manner.

"It`s hard to believe how quickly time goes by. It`s a big milestone, for sure, but in the end it doesn`t really change anything. My goals remain the same as when I started my first event and that's to win races. I still love the sport and I hope I can continue to drive these amazing cars for a long time," the German said.

Sutil has never scored points in Budapest and is looking forward to break the duck this time but at the same time he is little apprehensive since Pirelli will introduce new tyres for the race.

"It`s difficult to say because it's the first race with a new tyre construction. The track is tight and we need to qualify well because there are not many opportunities to overtake," he said.

Meanwhile, Team Principal Vijay Mallya says the results in nine races so far have exceeded their expectations.

"I think the first nine races have probably exceeded the expectations we set ourselves over the winter. The first mission was to start the year well and that's what we've done. In fact, it`s been our best start to a season ever: we've shown good pace and had some excellent races," Mallya said.

Mallya though was wary of McLaren in the second half of
the season.

"I would expect the remainder of the season to be more competitive than the first half of the year. We've seen the progress of McLaren, especially in Germany, and it's clear we have a big fight on our hands to beat them in the remaining races.

Toro Rosso have also looked more competitive recently so I think we will see tight grids and very close racing all the way through until the final race in Brazil," he said.

For Paul di Resta the best result here came in 2011 when he finished seventh on a damp track. The Scot says the track was difficult and the element of unpredictability will remain due to new tyres.

"It's very demanding physically and mentally because you are nearly always in a corner. The layout feels more like a street track and all the corners flow into each other so you need to find the rhythm of the track and build your confidence with each lap.

By the time the track is fully rubbered in it feels very satisfying to drive.

"There's no reason why we can?t be competitive. The big unknown is the new Pirelli tyres. It's a big challenge for all the teams to try and get on top of them quickly.

It's hard to say if they will impact on the performance level of the teams, but we will go into the weekend with the same approach and then target Q3 on Saturday and points on Sunday," he said.